If you suddenly discovered you were going to live forever, how would your attitude change?

I’m as troubled as anyone here over the state of the world today, and especially the state of my country, which I believe has lost its way
completely. I expect a further economic meltdown and more trouble ahead. That doesn’t make me feel secure. But my perspective is decidedly
short-term, measured in decades at best. I don’t expect to be here more than another 15 years, 25 tops. Otherwise is statistically unlikely.

For this Thought Project please imagine, if you will, that you discovered you were going to live forever, or at least until an accident of Providence
got you. Until the magic meteor takes you down for good you would be free of disease, aging, and deterioration. The question is: How would your
perspective change? How would you deal with the issues of the day?

Essentially you would be in a position to witness empires rise and fall, continents shift, languages change, and people engage in the same follies of
today over and over again. You would view the coming economic collapse, predicted by all third-graders, as merely a trough because in 100 years it
won’t matter. In a thousand years, as the world fight to stave off a coming Ice Age, you and your fellow citizens will be baffled that 21st century
“visionaries” could not see their own folly of global warming. And in 10,000 years the world will be a vastly different place.

Would you worry as much? You would still survive. Either the government would give you handouts or you’d actually have to work for a living.
Sometimes you’d be rich; sometimes you’d be poor, but at one time or another you will have owned castles. Hopefully you will have learned enough
to avoid common pitfalls and learned a few useful trades to get you by.

The idea of an immortal person walking the earth is not new. In fact, there are several references in the Bible to a ‘wandering Jew’ named
Cartaphilus. The story is in many forms, but the basic plot is that Cartaphilus offended Jesus
when he was carrying the cross. Jesus became angry and said, “Thou shalt tarry until I return.” One of the manifestations of this is in
My First Two Thousand
Years; the autobiography of a wandering Jew by George Sylvester Viereck, published originally in 1928 and still available. A similar story is
the Twilight Zone Season One episode, Long Live Walter Jamison, though it is
forced to fit into a half-hour. And, of course, we have The Highlander. Jerome Bixby himself
wrote the Star Trek episode, Requiem for Methuselah which deals with a man who claims
to have been everyone from Alexander the Great to Leonardo da Vinci on earth. The book,
Foreve
r, by Pete Hamill, which is actually a history of New York City seen through the lives of an immortal resident.
New Amsterdam was a television series that dealt with an immortal New York City cop.
Robert A. Heinlein’s Time enough for love is about Lazarus Long, born in 1916 and still going strong in 4200.

My favorite of these is “The Man from Earth” where John Oldman plays the part of a Cro Magnon who has survived into modern times. I’ve written
an extensive review about it here: www.scribd.com...

If I found out I was going to live forever, I'd pretty much immediately try to figure out a way to kill myself. This life is really a horror, and I
don't see how prolonging it forever would make it better in any way.

Originally posted by muzzleflash
Let's clear up this pain issue first.

You also might want to determine whether or not all your friends and family will also be immortal, or if you're going to forever and continually
watch them all eventually die. That might not be very pleasant.

I think you should have asked the question.....
"If you suddenly discovered you were going to die tomorrow, how would your attitude change....?"

DId you even read the OP.. and why he is proposing this subject to talk about? Good God.. go make your own thread if you want a different OP that
suits you. There is NO rule that compels you to post in threads you do not like or want to participate in.

Sorry OP, getting seriously tired of this on here... and it happens constantly now.

I think a lot would change if we knew we would reap what we sow. As it is now, we spend and live like there is no tomorrow and adversely effect th
planet in the same way.. becuase in fact, there is no "tomorrow". Like children we leave the mess for someone else to clean up when we are gone. If
I were to live forever, it would offer an opportunity to learn so much more, to study and to eventually find a way to live in a way that would not
effect the planet or even those around me. Most of my study and actions would be for those who were not going to live forever. I will live 5 or 6
times longer than pets.. and knowing that, I do things for and with them with that in mind. I think for some immortals that would be seen
similarly.
Then again, me personally, I would run the risk of being a wrathful immortal or go bury myself in a cave somewhere.

I think you should have asked the question.....
"If you suddenly discovered you were going to die tomorrow, how would your attitude change....?"

DId you even read the OP.. and why he is proposing this subject to talk about? Good God.. go make your own thread if you want a different OP that
suits you. There is NO rule that compels you to post in threads you do not like or want to participate in.

Sorry OP, getting seriously tired of this on here... and it happens constantly now.

I think a lot would change if we knew we would reap what we sow. As it is now, we spend and live like there is no tomorrow and adversely effect th
planet in the same way.. becuase in fact, there is no "tomorrow". Like children we leave the mess for someone else to clean up when we are gone. If
I were to live forever, it would offer an opportunity to learn so much more, to study and to eventually find a way to live in a way that would not
effect the planet or even those around me. Most of my study and actions would be for those who were not going to live forever. I will live 5 or 6
times longer than pets.. and knowing that, I do things for and with them with that in mind. I think for some immortals that would be seen
similarly.
Then again, me personally, I would run the risk of being a wrathful immortal or go bury myself in a cave somewhere.

"There is NO rule that compels you to post in threads you do not like or want to participate in. "

There is also no rule that says I can't...
I was simply putting a different spin on it. Sorry OP if I offended you!
but damn Advantage, calm down!!!

You said you wouldnt bother eating anymore.. in that same vein.. being immortally too obese to leave your bed ( yeah I watched that show on the health
channel... ugh) woudnt be a great way to spend eternity.

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